PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Territories Ministry today explained that the recent official declaration of Kampung Kerinchi was to avoid confusion and ensure the people that Kampung Kerinchi still exists.
Its minister Khalid Abdul Samad said despite the area being better known as Bangsar South than Kampung Kerinchi, the original site of Kampung Kerinchi still existed.
He said if one looked at the map, Kampung Kerinchi was still there and Bangsar South was built inside the area.
“Aside from the rapid development (commercially known as Bangsar South), the surrounding area is still known as Kampung Kerinchi. Also, not all Bangsar South development covers the whole of Kampung Kerinchi.
“Thus, there is no issue that Bangsar South is replacing Kampung Kerinchi. In fact, Bangsar South is built in the Kampung Kerinchi area,” he said, adding that the name Bangsar South was chosen by the developer so that it would be seen as more commercialised as its location was near the elite Bangsar residences and development.
In this respect, Khalid said, the ministry had no intention to cancel the Bangsar South name because it was only referring to a specific development area in Kampung Kerinchi.
Last Saturday, the official declaration of Kampung Kerinchi’s name was made by Port Dickson Member of Parliament Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Lembah Pantai MP Fahmi Fadzil was quoted as saying that the official delaration was made to ensure the identity of Kampung Kerinchi, which had been overshadowed and referred to as Bangsar South.
Despite the glamourous reference as Bangsar South, Kampung Kerinchi folk were uneasy by what had happened and wanted the area to have its original identity again.
Kampung Kerinchi got its name from the Kerinchi regency in the Jambi Province on the island of Sumatera.